Cirque du Solei, Hermeticism, Kooza and Shamanism

I wrote about how on my last road trip I saw an unplanned performance of the Cirque du Solei show Kooza, which I wrote about in this post -
My Observations of Time and Space in Port Macquarie
and my thoughts about its shamanic themes in this post -
Kooza and the Spirit of Shamanism

My main motivation for seeing the show though was because of You Tuber Halfasheep and his videos about magical themes in the Cirque du Solei shows, like in these two You Tubes of his below.

While I was considering seeing the Kooza show when it finally made its way to my home town of Brisbane in late November, I got the chance to see it quite by accident in Sydney when I read an advert for the show in a complementary paper I picked up when leaving my motel in Port Macquarie to travel down to Sydney to be there for the Friday night semi-final to watch my team the Sharks take on the Cowboys.
My Happiest Birthday Ever

The Kooza ad on a page featuring a story about the purple one, Prince

My rented Sydney apartment with
the newspaper open on the table

I planned on staying in and taking it easy on my Thursday night in Sydney until I read that the Cirque du Solei show was playing pretty much up the road from the apartment where I was staying. 

The football stadium I was going to attend
on Friday night and where I would sit

A map of Centennial Park, the football stadium
and entertainment quarter

Federation Pavilion in Centennial Park, Sydney

I also noticed that one of the parks  Halfasheep explores in one of his videos was right across the road from the Cirque du Solei tent.
So, I thought I would walk to the football stadium Friday afternoon and check out Centennial Park and the federation dome for myself (there is another post on my park walk coming soon) and if I could get a ticket to the Cirque du Solei for Thursday night I would go and see one of these shows for myself to see just how magical they are.

I decided it was my birthday on Friday, so this would be like a birthday present to myself, if I could get a ticket and the first ticket that was offered to me was seat #23, my birth-date ... hmm.

My ticket for 'Kooza'

The first seat I was offered by Cirque du Solei
was seat #23, my birthdate

Walking around inside the Kooza tent in Sydney

Walking around the Melbourne Storm's stadium
 in Melbourne in June

I hadn't seen so many purple lights since visiting the Melbourne Storm's stadium in June on my last road trip ... little did I know at the time that my team Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks were going to win their first ever grand final against the Melbourne Storm in a little over a week's time.

I also bought a purple Kooza coffee mug on the night, which would change colour when hot water went into it.
I bought it because the skull on the cup reminded me of the bottle of Crystal Head Vodka I bought for Father's Day, which I wrote about in this post -
Crystal Head Vodka, Father's Day and Death
Unfortunately, this cup cracked apart as soon as I poured hot water into it when I got home.

The Trickster made me feel like a mug
for buying this flawed mug;-)

The crack formed from the handle of the cup and went through the Trickster's eyes and rose up out of the eyes of the skull like a spirit was leaving through the "third eye" portal to me.

The view from my seat on the night, pretty much side on

You aren't supposed to take pictures during the show, so the only shot I took was the one above before the show started just to show where I was sitting on the night.
All other shots I use in this post about the actual show are taken from Google image searches to point out what I'm writing about in relation to shamanic or Hermetical themes I feel are in the show.

If you watch the opening sequence in the You Tube above, you will see that the show starts off with the Trickster exploding out from a box/cube (big bang?) to meet the "Innocent"/fool/Jesus(?) who is carrying a kite (Holy Spirit?) with him.

Think outside of the box here;-)

Trinity? Father/Son/Holy Ghost?

From cube to cross?

Not only does the cube represent an unfoldment of matter and spirit when the Trickster is cannoned out of the box in a big bang moment, but if you unfold a cube, it makes a cross.  
The "Innocent/Jesus" is the second part of the 3 in 1 triune and the kite maybe a representation of the Holy Spirit (notice the kite contains a cross where the sticks "cross"?), or at least an instrument that flies up among the Holy Spirit, so to speak.
Thinking Outside of Time (or the Box)
"Hermeticism, also called Hermetism, is a religious, philosophical, and esoteric tradition based primarily upon writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus ("Thrice Great").
These writings have greatly influenced the Western esoteric tradition and were considered to be of great importance during both the Renaissance and the Reformation.
The tradition claims descent from a prisca theologia, a doctrine that affirms the existence of a single, true theology that is present in all religions and that was given by God to man in antiquity.

Hermeticists believe in a prisca theologia, the doctrine that a single, true theology exists, that it exists in all religions, and that it was given by God to man in antiquity."

As above, so below

In that opening sequence of 'Kooza' the Trickster/Magician uses his wand to create the four elements (the four tent poles light up one at a time when he points his wand at each one in the show) and then unites them into one by pointing his wand to the sky, so Halfasheep is right about the 4 into 1 thing he talks about in his videos.

The three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe

Three in one?

"Alchemy (the operation of the Sun): Alchemy is not merely the changing of lead into gold.
It is an investigation into the spiritual constitution, or life, of matter and material existence through an application of the mysteries of birth, death, and resurrection."

The "Wheel of Death" is a very good example on many levels of the principle of, "as above, so below", as well as how astral bodies revolve around each other in the heavens.

"Astrology (the operation of the stars): Hermes claims that Zoroaster discovered this part of the wisdom of the whole universe, astrology, and taught it to man.
In Hermetic thought, it is likely that the movements of the planets have meaning beyond the laws of physics and actually hold metaphorical value as symbols in the mind of The All, or God. 
Astrology has influences upon the Earth, but does not dictate our actions, and wisdom is gained when we know what these influences are and how to deal with them."

Bad Dog? (God spelled backwards?-)

"Theurgy (the operation of the gods): There are two different types of magic, according to Giovanni Pico della Mirandola's Apology, completely opposite of each other.
The first is Goëtia (Greek: γοητεια), black magic reliant upon an alliance with evil spirits (i.e., demons). 
The second is Theurgy, divine magic reliant upon an alliance with divine spirits (i.e., angels, archangels, gods).
Theurgy translates to "The Science or Art of Divine Works" and is the practical aspect of the Hermetic art of alchemy.
Furthermore, alchemy is seen as the "key" to theurgy, the ultimate goal of which is to become united with higher counterparts, leading to the attainment of Divine Consciousness."

"Reincarnation is mentioned in Hermetic texts. 
Hermes Trismegistus asked:
"O son, how many bodies have we to pass through, how many bands of demons, through how many series of repetitions and cycles of the stars, before we hasten to the One alone?""

There are heaps of Hermetic references, visual, metaphorical and otherwise in 'Kooza'.

But it is the shamanic qualities I liked about this show, as well.

Michael Harner talks about shamans using a sonic driver, such as a drum, in the talk he gives above and is the main musical instrument used in 'Kooza' and even highlighted with a drum solo on stage by the drummer.

This image isn't from the show
 'Kooza' BTW

There is also a lot of psychedelic imagery in 'Kooza'. 

I now see why these Cirque du Solei shows are so popular with modern audiences, because they speak on a soul level to the audience and are great entertainment, as well.

The empty tequila bottle with a
'Day of the Dead' skull on my desk

I have an empty tequila bottle on my desk, which has been there for two years to encourage me to write a post about a great book I read years ago called, 'Sing and Don't Cry: A Mexican Journal', by Cate Kennedy, as I met her in Byron Bay when she was giving a talk about her travels to Mexico and the Mexican's cultural landscape.

I'm a massive fan of Frida Kahlo and her artworks and the ideas expressed in those artworks. 
I'm also a fan of the Mexican celebrations of the 'Day of the Dead' and I believe that holiday should be celebrated in some form or other world-wide, as the West seem to sweep the idea of death under the carpet.

I must say that after seeing 'Kooza' in Sydney I've become a bit of a Cirque du Solei fan and come November I may even check out 'Kooza' again when it comes to my hometown of Brisbane, but I won't be buying another mug, that's for sure.